Mediterranean Barley Vegetable Stew

Oma sent me this little article called "A Meaty Issue: Vegan dishes are becoming more mainstream" from the Desert Sun. It was perfect timing because I was just starting to plan this week's menu and decided to include this recipe in my menu. I love barley and this looked like a nice easy recipe that could be tasty and fun! Here's hoping for the best!!

Mediterranean Barley Vegetable Stew

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely chopped--just used a bit more onion
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted--not fire-roasted, but I did learn that the larger cans of diced tomatoes are much cheaper so I may be buying them from  now on!
• 4 cups (1 quart) vegetable broth--I wanted to buy this but at Whole Foods the only variety available was much too expensive (like $3.50 instead of $1.50!)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced
• 1 1/2 cups barley
• 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips
• 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced--I just bought some black olives because I couldn't find that variety and the black olives were cheap!
• 1 cup water
• salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

• In a large saucepan over medium, heat the olive oil. Add garlic, shallots and onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, broth, rosemary and barley, then bring to a simmer.
• Cover and continue to cook until barley is tender, about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Stir in the roasted red peppers, baby spinach, olives and water.
• Cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and black pepper. 

This stew was wonderful! Britney and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was one of the most highly-reviewed dishes I've made in a long time by Britney. Thanks Oma for sharing this great new recipe! I will definitely keep it on my "Must Cook Again" list!!